Tag: Frank Vogel

Frank Vogel named coach of the month, off to best start during first season with LeBron of any coach

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is named Western Conference coach of the month and is off to the best start during the first season with LeBron of any coach in James career.

Los Angeles Lakers bench boss Frank Vogel was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November, the NBA announced on Monday. Prior to dropping one to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks on December 1, Vogel had helped lead the Lakers to a 17-2 record to start the season. That mark tied L.A.’s best 19-game start and featured a 10-game winning streak to close out the month.

It doesn’t typically go this smoothly for head coaches who are working with LeBron for the first time to open a season. As a rookie under Paul Silas, James and the Cavaliers opened the year with five-game losing streak and added another eight-game losing streak before hitting the 20-game mark. When Mike Brown took over in Cleveland during the 2005-06 campaign, LeBron and the Cavs started 11-9.

In his first year with the Miami Heat under coach Erik Spoelstra, LeBron and the Heatles started just 12-8 despite featuring Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh alongside the King. Then, when James returned to Cleveland in 2014 and teamed up with coach David Blatt, the Cavaliers opened the season with a 5-7 record before eventually winning their next six games. Blatt would be fired shortly into the following year and replaced with Tyronn Lue during the season.

What’s maybe most encouraging for Lakers fans thus far is that Vogel has his team buying in on the defensive end of the floor. Los Angeles is currently top-five in defensive rating and blocks while LeBron continues to preach the importance of putting in work on that end of the floor. Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is a defensive player of the year candidate and the team is moving the ball well enough offensively to rank fourth in the NBA in assists.

Vogel, LeBron and the Lakers now travel to Denver tonight for a matchup with the 13-4 Nuggets. Led by Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, Denver currently occupies the second spot in the Western Conference, trailing L.A. by 2.5 games. If Vogel is going to go back-to-back with coach of the month honors and keep the good times rolling, that effort would start tonight with a big win on the road over a contending team like the Nuggets.

By all accounts, Vogel – whose staff …

By all accounts, Vogel – whose staff also includes renowned player development assistant Phil Handy – is living up to his reputation as one of the game’s most diligent and deliberate defensive gurus. Yet as Vogel is the first to tell you, LeBron’s buy-in on both ends of the floor has been as big an X-factor as you’ll find. “Whatever the history is (between him and James), LeBron has been a leader,” Vogel told The Athletic recently of James, who is averaging 25.2 points, a league-leading 10.8 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals. “To me, the best leaders are the ones that follow the lead of the coach. Forgetting the history and all that, he’s been great since I’ve been here. I’ve tried to present a vision of a style of play that makes sense, that fits our personnel, and he has kind of gotten behind that.”

Jared Dudley, the 34-year-old forward …

Jared Dudley, the 34-year-old forward who is playing in his 13th season with his ninth team and who played under Kidd during his Bucks tenure (2014-15)… “Some people might be saying (Kidd) is gunning for his job, (but) I see a family approach. I see them laughing. I see Vogel laughing with Kidd and Lionel Hollins. You see how they all have their own role. …Obviously Vogel’s a big defensive guy, (so) you have (him) breaking down the opponents. Phil Handy (who is very popular among NBA stars and who took part in the last five Finals), going over certain personnel. (You have) Jason Kidd, because of familiarity with certain players. … When he speaks offense you’re more keen. You’d think that would be a little rocky trying to figure people out man, but he’s a player’s coach. He asks for opinions. He said ‘This is what I like to do, what are your guys’ views on it, and eventually he makes a decision.’

Lakers players credit Frank Vogel, coaching staff for communication

Several players on the Los Angeles Lakers have praised their coaching staff for preparing the team on a nightly basis.

The Los Angeles Lakers are riding high after the first full month of NBA basketball with a 14-2 record, sitting atop the standings in the league. All of the players who have contributed have also gotten their worthy moments in the spotlight and the headlines.

But a less talked about group that was also almost completely changed over from last season to this year is their coaching staff, led by Frank Vogel. Few expected the Lakers to star this well and while some of the skepticism was due to the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, so to was there skepticism because Vogel was seen by many as the third, or perhaps even fourth choice, behind Ty Lue, Monty Williams and his own assistant Jason Kidd.

The Lakers have washed all of those skeptics away with their play, which is also due in part to the communication and preparation of their coaching staff. Rajon Rondo believes Vogel’s ability to communicate with LeBron James sets the tone for how the staff talks with the rest of the team, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.

If you can talk to (LeBron as the coach), you can talk to anybody. (Vogel’s) delivery, his communication, is great. That’s what I think I’m learning (about) for my future, if I want to go that route. I take notes every day. I’m trying to learn from coach. Sometimes I’ll write them down. Sometimes I’ll take a picture of the scouting report, what his philosophy is before the game and take a couple things I love about what he does and just continue to grow as a player.

From Vogel’s first press conference, he’s done an excellent job at articulating his vision to the public about what he wanted to see from the Lakers. And much of it has come to fruition, with the Lakers taking an analytics-influenced approach on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, they are living at the rim, which is the most efficient zone and they’re also shooting better from the outside as a team even if their volume is near the bottom of the league. Defensively, they are protecting the rim at an excellent rate while also contesting 3-point shots and getting their hands on loose balls.

But while the players are making plays, Frank Vogel, Kidd and the rest of the Lakers staff have done their job of putting the team in a position to win on a nightly basis.

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Frank Vogel on Anthony Davis: ‘There’s no one like him in the NBA’

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel continues to heap the praise on his star big man Anthony Davis.

Anthony Davis may be finding his shooting stroke from the outside, making one of the league’s elite two-way players even scarier for opponents. Over the last four games, Davis is shooting over 40% on 3-pointers to add to his solid passing and incredible defensive impact over the first month of the season.

The way Davis is playing is only validating what the Lakers already thought of him, as an equal to LeBron James rather than just a running mate. James has been excellent all season and the Lakers want to make sure he’s officiated fairly, but they also want to make sure people appreciate how special Davis is.

Frank Vogel told reporters after Saturday’s win in Memphis that there’s nobody else like Davis in the NBA, according to Silver Screen and Roll.

There is no one like him in the NBA. That’s how unique it is. Like I said, the amount of ways he impacts the game. Shooting threes … attacking the basket, two four-point plays tonight and elite defense all over the place. He’s something special.

Vogel is absolutely right that what Davis is doing is special. If Davis is able to maintain his current run, he would join Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only player in NBA history to average over 20 points and three blocks per game while shooting over 35% from the 3-point line, according to Basketball-Reference.

LeBron James, Lakers baffled by lack of free-throw attempts

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are baffled by the lack of calls The King is getting on his drives.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers remain the hottest team in basketball after winning their seventh straight game, matching their longest win-streak of the season and winning their 14th game in 15 tries. But there’s still one thing that the Lakers are concerned about and it has to do with the way that their star is being officiated.

LeBron James had a game-high 30 points on the night but the story from both he and the Lakers following their win was that of James not getting enough respect for someone who lives in the paint. It’s not a new story for James, who has complained about a lack of calls driving to the basket since his final season in Cleveland. But the fact that it’s not new makes it even more frustrating.

“I’m living in the paint and if you look at my arm right here, these are four or five [scratches] that happened the last two games, and they weren’t called at all,” said James, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

The problems that LeBron faces attacking the basket while being a physical specimen brings to mind the days of Shaquille O’Neal and how players were allowed to batter him in the post simply because he was bigger, stronger and faster. With the Lakers in San Antonio tomorrow night, it will be interesting to see if LeBron taking his issues public will result in some more trips to the free-throw line.